Neo@Ogilvy Reviews

Former Employee – worked at Neo@Ogilvy full-time for more than a year

Pros – A small company within a larger company. A different model with a dynamic CEO and some great people around the world, Great clients, big ambitions.

Cons – Felt like an under-resourced start-up....not the easiest place to navigate. A lot of push-pull with partners at the (more traditional) parent company about the role of media. Often felt as though we were making promises and then scrambling to figure out what we could deliver. It may have gotten better since I left, as there have been many changes.

Advice to Senior Management – Forge an identity separate from the parent company; get a seat at the grownups table.

Former Employee – worked at Neo@Ogilvy full-time for more than a year

Pros – --Major clients, definite plus if you can work on a client where Ogilvy has the 360 business
--Good place to start a career and get exposure to the 360 experience
--huge agency name recognition
--first in class benefits and pension plan
--employee turnover can create some really cool opportunities quickly

Cons – --employee turnover can also lead to really long hours, and not a lot of middle management to help guide growth and development
--Not an industry leader in digital thought leadership
-lack of thought leadership means that with social and analytics it's best to go elsewhere

Advice to Senior Management – --work on employee retention, even if it hurts profit margins in short term

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Neo@Ogilvy full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – There is opportunity for bright and energetic people, who are willing to push the envelope.
Good work is recognized.
It is incredibly diverse.

Cons – Neo needs vision and agility. While Neo needs people who can think quickly, those quick thoughts are often voices in the wilderness but perseverance has its rewards.

Advice to Senior Management – Listen to the voices on the bottom.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Neo@Ogilvy full-time for more than a year

Pros – - Good place to start a career in media, will learn the basics of media planning
- Employee benefits are good, 10 vacation days, 3 personal days, 10 sick days, 4 summer Fridays, and agency is closed the week between Christmas and New Year

Cons – - Long hours, you feel obligated to stay at work if other members of your team are there, even if you are done with all of your work
- Senior management does not care about your personal growth
- No work/life balance
- Directors, GPDs, and AMDs rarely communicate things down to planners and assistant planners
- Promotions are not merit-based, you get promoted only if there is an open spot available
- Low pay, no overtime, raises are very rare
- Very high turnover rate, many teams are understaffed and upper management does very little to remedy it

Advice to Senior Management – - Better communication needed

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Neo@Ogilvy

Pros – Leadership team is strong. Strong advancement opportunities.

Cons – As with most big agencies, big changes are not always communicated all the way downstream.

Advice to Senior Management – Better communication.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Neo@Ogilvy

Pros – Overall, fun and inspiring people. The client base isn't the sexiest in the industry, but many agencies have worse. Some members of senior management are extremely smart and can position the organization for a bright future.

Cons – Office location, C suite talks but doesn't act, high turnover, many accounts are under staffed especially if they are not big revenue generators for the agency

Advice to Senior Management – Look to hire people bigger than you on all levels and we will become a company of giants.... Pretty sure some guy named David Ogilvy said that. May want to start doing it!

Current Employee – been working at Neo@Ogilvy

Pros – Upper management knows their clients well and offer great knowledge to the planners on how to manage their media buys.

Cons – Poor project management by supervisors, AMDs and GPDs

Former Employee – worked at Neo@Ogilvy

Pros – Great people/ building relationships
Working with Ogilvy partners
Client roster
Exposure to senior management
Social events - if you can leave work before 10pm
Casual environment
Never boring

Cons – Disorganized
Poor employee morale, no work/life balance
No communication to employees
Promotions given to the wrong people
Raises few and far between, unless you resign...then it becomes a priority
They do not value good employees or try to retain talent
High employee turnover and lack in communication of changes to staff
Stuck in their ways therefore extremely to really make changes to the ineffective processes in place
No mentoring programs set up through HR

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Neo@Ogilvy

Pros – Big name to have on your resume and that's it.

Cons – There is absolutely no work/life balance at Neo@Ogilvy, which is the media arm of the the Ogilvy company. The turnover rate is really high as people are very dissatisfied. There is a hiring freeze because management is mostly concerned with the bottom line, which leads to less people doing more work. It is not uncommon for one person to do the work of five! and if you mention this to upper management, you will be told to work an hour more and or be more flexible with your time. Not uncommon to work 12+ hours everyday here either and of course here is no overtime.

Furthermore this is not a place that I would recommend to anyone -- not only is there high turnover, but also there has been and continue to be layoffs. Upper management does not seem to realize that constant turnover is affecting the business in the long-term. Clients are complaining about the constant new faces on their business and the lack of proper communication from the agency.

HR is completely ineffective and poorly staffed, so it is not worth the time to go to them to discuss the issues within the agency. Also, it seems that HR does not communicate employee concerns to upper management. Many Group Directors have a of bully management or passive aggressive management style, which is very suffocating to career development and growth.

In short save your time do not work here, go somewhere else where you can have a like and make more money.

Advice to Senior Management – Listen to what employees have to say and act on their grievances.
Communicate with the employees

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Neo@Ogilvy

Pros – Great Perks
Great Work Environment
Great Legacy
Cool People

Cons – Management
Too Political
No opportunity for growth
Too big to appreciate employees

Advice to Senior Management – Keep proven Leaders who have shown a following. Fire the rest.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend